At the beginning of every year, America indulges in celebrating itself. There are the Grammy’s, the Oscars, the Golden Globes and
hundreds of other award ceremonies for those not good enough to be nominated for the first three. Teenage girls jump up and down with the thought of who can pull off Valentino and who’s wearing the cutest Jimmy Choo’s.
While yielding to our inner fangirl is acceptable in moderation, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the essential things in our lives. Starvation is eating away at millions of victims, people are fighting for equal rights, and high-profile shootings are becoming more common. We have so much to figure out, but instead people are trading in real world problems for gossip, such as the incessant talk about how Selena Gomez sang a heartbreaking song about Justin Bieber.
The 85th Academy Awards this past weekend, for example, weren’t short of talent, with four historical movies nominated and so many people hoping to get their big break by winning. But instead of focusing on the hard-working artists who are finally being recognized for their work behind-the-scenes, 33 of 50 MVHS students marked Jennifer Lawrence tripping on stage as the most distinguished moment the entire night.
A whole night, which is supposed to be dedicated to writers, producers, and actors, is diminished because many people would rather focus on an actress slipping on her dress. While it may be hilarious that she fell while winning a coveted award, by applying so much focus, we ultimately diminish the achievements of the other 23 people who deserve their 15 minutes in the limelight just as much as Lawrence and her high profile career.
The people we see on the cover of People magazine and on billboards become so integral in the media that we see every day that these people who we have never even met begin to feel like long time friends.
According to Psychology Today, the general public is so attracted to the idea of celebrities because people are prone to the “halo effect” – the assumption that if someone is highly accomplished in a career field, entertainment or otherwise, they are just as accomplished in traits such as morality, intelligence, and kindness. This notion that some people are perfect in every aspect is what sparks an unnatural obsession with certain celebrities of the entertainment industry.
All this attention on a few specific people is unhealthy; for them and those fans worshipping them. It’s always good to have a role model, but it’s not about that anymore. After the 2012 Grammy Awards, the buzz about Chris Brown and the beating he gave Rihanna was trending worldwide, and among the congratulations he received for his Grammy, Buzzfeed published 25 tweets in support of Brown and his violence, all including comments from women who stated they would let Brown “beat [them] up anytime.” This obsessiveness to one celebrity can make people forget what is morally and ethically wrong in society, and that is the line where the hype goes too far, where love for a person makes them joke about things that should be taken seriously
It’s important that, as a society, we recognize that profession doesn’t make any one person’s life any more significant than everyone else’s. Couples are making and breaking up all the time, but suddenly, when Chris Brown and Rihanna walk down the street hand in hand again, fans compete to write a wikipedia page about their “tragic” relationship. It’s time we realized that Brown and Rihanna make great music, but their personal life doesn’t affect anyone but them. What they do should have minimal affect on our actions and thoughts, especially when it comes to our judgement in character and morality.
Enjoy films and music keeping in mind that the entertainment industry is just that: entertainment. It’s for us to escape reality and join a world where these seemingly perfect people live their seemingly perfect life, and throwing them in the limelight has been a tradition of media for a long time, but we should not be so enthralled by it. We have more important things to worry about.
